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AP for all who are willing to do the work

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Any student who’s willing to do the work can sign up for Lindsey Jensen’s Advanced Placement English class, the 2018 Illinois Teacher of the Year writes on Education Post. Requirements are a barrier to opportunity, she writes. They’re not necessary.

She tells interested students what AP English will require. Many decide they’re not up for it. But those who want to challenge themselves are welcome.

Black and brown students are the most likely to be denied access to high-level courses, writes Jensen.

Furthermore, when I think back on my teaching career, some of my most talented, critical thinkers weren’t necessarily the straight-A students, riddled with anxiety at the thought of potentially earning a B in a class. Often times, my most critical thinkers were the C or D students—the risk-takers who did just enough to get by; the ones who didn’t drink the proverbial Kool-Aid that straight-A’s dictated success.

When given opportunities to shine in argumentation or debate, they often had the ability to form better rebuttals than many of my A students.

AP teachers must be honest about the workload, then trust students and their parents to decide, Jensen concludes.

Many worry that expanding access to AP will put heavy pressure on teachers to lower expectations.

In 2017, the New York Times Magazine questioned whether students benefit from taking AP classes if they can’t pass the end-of-year exams to earn college credit.

Many more students are taking AP courses, notes researcher Suneal Kolluri. Scores are declining, especially among black and Latino AP test takers.”In 1997, 61.1 percent of Latino AP students passed exams, but in 2012, that number had declined to 42.8 percent. For black AP students, a 1997 pass rate of 35.9 percent had declined to 29.1 percent in 2012. For white students, pass rates have remained largely unchanged despite an increase in exam participation.”

Here’s a look at how Montgomery County, Maryland is expanding AP enrollment.


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